Moment's Choice
by Hooded-Figurine
Summary: When a strange old man offers Kyo a second shot at life, he takes it. But everything has a price, and some prices are ones we don't want to pay...


**Moment's Choice**

**A/N: Sorry if Kyo is a bit OoC at times, my sister is the one who loves the show, and I've just gotten this much info by osmosis, so please no harsh flames.**

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Kyo's POV  
A gray blur, that's what the world looks like right now as I walk aimlessly through the streets. I turn, and randomly notice that I'm at the intersection of King Street from Juniper Drive. A voice calls out to me from somewhere to my right, "How would you like a chance to go back, Cat?"

I stop in my tracks, turning right to look at the man that called out. He sits hunched over on a thin straw mat, scraggly gray hair matted to his head by the light rain that's been falling all day. "What do you mean, go back?"

"I mean, back in time. Back to before you were cursed."

I do a double take, who is this man to know about the curse, and my role in it? Ignoring my gut instinct to run away, I step into the mouth of the alley. "Who are you? How do you know about me?"

His pale gray eyes seem to bore into mine, "Oh, Kyo Sohma, I know more about you than even you know yourself."

I step backwards again, startled. "Who are you? How do you know this stuff?"

He beckons me with one scrawny finger, and I step forward involuntarily. "Who I am is irrelevant, as are my sources. What matters right now, is you. Your decision."

Hebows his head, reciting a poem. "Make your choice, adventurous Stranger; Strike the bell and bide the danger, Or wonder, till it drives you mad, What would have followed if you had."

I walk forward a little more, then crouch cautiously a few yards from the man, trying to think of where I've seen him before. But find myself instead considering his offer. What's so great about my life anyways? What could keep me here if I wanted to start over?

"What's the catch?" I ask, because there's always a catch.

The man smiles, showing me a few chipped yellow teeth. "Hahaha," he laughs, "So you've chosen. You can only keep one memory, and someone must take your place, but there are no strings attached."

I frown, " I want to remember..." I trail off, what do I want to remember? "I want to remember that I... That I love Tohru..."

His old eyes sparkle with something I can't name, and I jump to my feet. "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't go back now. I have to... I have to go tell Tohru..." I try to leave, but my feet refuse to move, sticking to the cement as though held in place by super glue.

"Oh, I'm afraid it's much too late for that, Kyo Sohma." Something in his tone makes my heart beat faster as he raises one arm, beckoning me with a finger. My feet lift from the ground and I'm pulled closer to him. "You see, I can't let anybody go once they've made their choice." An old medallion lifts from among the folds of his dirty shirt, stretching towards me like another hand as he licks his lips. "It would be like passing up a free meal."

If only I could move. Then I could punch him, then I could run. But as the tarnished circle of metal touches me, I still can't move a muscle save my racing heart and gasping lungs. Then there's a flash, and the world goes black, leaving Tohru my only certainty that I'm alive at all.

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Months later a child is born. He is raised by his mother to be kind, generous, and accepting. He lives a normal life with his mother, whom he loves dearly, until one day when he is 6. It all changes that day, in the graveyard...

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Walking through the graveyard, I hold mommy's hand tightly and look around. Mommy lets go of my hand, and something catches my eye; a cluster of people several yards away. It must be a funeral, I wonder who died.

As mommy places flowers on her daddy's grave, I watch the crowd, and, more specifically, the little brown haired girl standing closest to the grave. Tears are brimming in her eyes, and even though she looks to be the most upset of the whole group, her face is stubbornly set like she's trying not to cry.

A tear rolls down her face, and she lifts her left hand to rub it away. Her sleeve slides up on her arm, exposing her bangles. Then she begins to cry in earnest, and I walk towards her, pulled as if by a magnet.

I stop in front of her and hold out my hand, "Hi, I'm Kyo."

She looks up, tears still falling down her face. Tentatively, she shakes my hand, "I'm Tohru."

"Did you know them?" I ask her, nodding towards the grave.

"She was," she hiccups, "My mom."

I reach out awkwardly to pat her on the shoulder, but stop halfway. "I'm so sorry."

She begins to cry again, and I wipe her tears away.

"I'm sorry," She sniffles, "I shouldn't be crying like this in front of everyone."

"You're so stupid, it's okay to cry."

She shakes her head violently, "No, its not."

I sigh and grab her wrist, dragging her into the trees. Just inside of the small woods, I let go of her hand. "There, now you can cry. Happy?"

She gives me a tentative smile, and I can now see that she's not going to trust me.

She lifts her hands to rub at the tears again, and that's when I see it. It's nearly hidden in all of her other bracelets, but I see it. Those beads, and the fact that _she's_ wearing it.

I lash out and grab her wrist, "You... You're..." I stare at her frightened, defiant face, and something in my head clicks over. "You're Tohru Sohma..."

She nods her head, the fear draining from her features to be replaced by something like arrogance, all traces of grief gone now. "Yeah, I am."

"The Sohmas have a curse, a Zodiac curse. And the Zodiac Cat has to wear a bracelet to contain his inner monster."

She stares at me, confused and horrified. "Who are you?"

But I continue, the words spilling from my mouth. "The Zodiac Cat is despised, not even allowed to attend the mandatory New Year's banquet because of that damned Rat! And if a Zodiac member is hugged by somebody of the opposite sex..." I hug her, hoping desperately that nothing will happen and she'll just be confused by what I've said. But there's a poof, and a small brown kitty is in my arms instead of the girl I chose to remember. "They transform." I whisper, my voice sounding strangled to my own ears. I never wanted this to happen to her. I never meant for her to be hurt like this, forced to be the Zodiac Cat, despised and rebuked her whole life.

Tears well up in my eyes, and I hug her tiny kitten form tightly, crying into her fur. "I'm sorry, Tohru. I'm so sorry that I did this to you." And I run, clutching her to me, I run from the graveyard and into the city,sprinting blindly through the crowds until my foot catches on an uneven slab of sidewalk and I fall down, Tohru flying from my arms. I pant, pushing myself up onto scraped up hands and knees, barely registering that there's barely anybody else around. "Tohru, Tohru!"

The few people walking by give me odd looks, but I ignore them and scramble after the girl-turned-kitten. I find her crouched behind a dumpster, and quickly grab her up, hugging her close as I sit down in the alley mouth. She scratches at my arms with needle sharp claws, hissing, but I refuse to let go. "Tohru, I'm so sorry that I did this to you. I never meant for this to happen."

After a bit, she looks up at me, "I'm sure you didn't." Her sarcasm cuts deeper than her claws, being the cat has made her cold and distant. Just like I was.

I try to think, to plan ahead, but my brain seems frozen. "If you change back, you'll be naked..." I mutter, clambering to my feet while keeping her in my arms.

She looks at me, dumbstruck. "How... how do you..."

"How do I know?" I start walking, thankful now that I spent so much of my teenage years roaming the streets instead of doing homework. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

She scowls, her kitten face conveying the expression surprisingly well. "Try me."

I think for a moment, "Well, first off, this is my second life. Before this I was a teenager, and the zodiac Cat. And..." I hesitate, then continue. "I was in love with you."

She glares at me, "What the hell are you saying?"

I flinch inside at her words, the Tohru I know and love would never swear, ever. "I'm saying, that we were high school students, and I was in love with you. But, I think you liked Yuki better."

She snorts derisively, "The damn Rat? I was in love with _him_?"

I flinch again, but continue on, rounding the corner onto King Street. "Yes, but you weren't a Sohma. Your last name was..." I pause, shocked. "Your last name, was Honda."

She glares at me some more, "So?"

"That's, my last name." Inside, I curse the old man. He didn't say anything about me and Tohru switching places!

I crane my neck to look up at the street signs, turning around when I miss one. My heel catches on an uneven slab of concrete, and I sit down abruptly. Tohru scampers into the alley, and I scramble to my feet, reaching the mouth just as there's a poof of smoke. "Tohru!" I call out, looking around for her.

"Hey carrot top!" She yells quietly, sticking her head around the edge of a dumpster near the mouth of the alley. "Give me your shirt."

"My shirt?" I look at the red fabric, then back at the green metal dumpster. "Why?"

She sighs, "I need to wear something!"

I feel my face heat up, and pull the over-sized tee off quickly. "How-"

"Throw it." I bite the inside of my cheek, face burning, and wad the shirt up before launching it over the black plastic lid. Turning, I hit my head against the wall in an attempt to remove the image of a naked teenage Tohru from my head.

"I'm done." Says a quiet voice behind me. I turn around to meet a fist.

My head cracks against the brick wall, and I rub it, slightly dazed. "But, you can't throw a punch to save your life."

She smirks maliciously, "Maybe the other me can't, but I can. Now, do you have a destination in mind, or have we just been wandering aimlessly?"

I shake my head quickly, clearing it. "No, we're heading to where this started. I'm going to make this right."

She smacks me again, then lets me lead the way towards Juniper Drive, where a figure is hunched just inside of the alleyway. "Hey!" I call out, running forwards towards the half shadowed figure.

He looks up, then puts out one frail hand towards me. I run into an invisible brick wall, but Tohru vaults off of my back, clearing the wall and landing mere inches from the man, pulling down the hem of her borrowed shirt. "I don't know exactly what's going on, but carrot top here seems to want to talk with you, so I suggest you let him."

The man smiles eerily at her, the same way he smiled at me. "Hello, young Cat, how would you like to have a mother again?"

I see her freeze, the cockiness draining from her face. "You can bring my mom back?" She grips his filthy shirt collar, desperation in her stance. "Do it! I don't care what it costs, just do it! Bring her back!" A tear falls, and she lowers her head, grip slackening. "Bring her back, please, bring her back."

"You can remember only one thing from this life in your next one, so choose wisely."

Her head lifts, tears still falling. "I love my mother. I love my mother, and her name is Kyoko Honda."

And then the medallion lifts, she disappears, and the world melts in front of me.

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A/N: The credit for this base idea must go to DotTheAmazing, but the execution is an original take on it. Reviews and Faves much appreciated!


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